The Five Heartbeats - Heart Is A House For Love

This is some old school music. They got it together in time. Eddie Cain can sang!

We Thirst For You – CeCe Winans Live

Let Go, Let God - Dewayne Woods

Diversity In The Fiduciary



Front Row: Associate Justices; Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Back Row: Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan

 From the Associated Press - President Barack Obama is moving at a historic pace to try to diversify the nation's federal judiciary: Nearly three of every four people he has gotten confirmed to the federal bench are women or minorities. He is the first president who hasn't selected a majority of white males for lifetime judgeships.  Of the 98 Obama nominees confirmed to date, the administration says 21 percent are African-American, 11 percent are Hispanic, 7 percent are Asian-American and almost half — 47 percent — are women. By comparison, of the 322 judges confirmed during George W. Bush's presidency, 18 percent were minorities and 22 percent were female. Of the 372 judges confirmed during Clinton's terms, 25 percent were minorities and 29 percent were women. In these figures, some judges fit into more than one category.  The president won Senate confirmation of the first Latina to the Supreme Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. And with the confirmation of Justice Elena Kagan, he increased the number of women on the high court to three for the first time.  Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court in 1967, and Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman to be elevated to the nation's highest court in 1981.  "The more diverse the courts, the more confidence people have in our judicial system," said Nan Aron of the liberal Alliance for Justice. "Having a diverse judiciary also enriches the decision-making process."  Obama also has doubled the number of Asian-Americans sitting on the federal bench, including adding Denny Chin to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York as the only active Asian federal appeals court judge. There currently are 14 Asian-American federal judges on the 810-judge roster.  Having said this, there are still some narrow-minded critics who refuse to accept the fact that these minorities are more than qualified to deserve these positions.  Then again, some of these same people think we vote for people of color running for public office just because they are people of color.  We accept the fact that hatred causes people to be this blind.

We Stood United, 9/11/01



The Crashes



WTC In Ruins



The Pentagon

Sunday, 9/11/11, the country celebrated the 10^th anniversary of the terrorists attacks in New York, Arlington, VA, and in Pennsylvania.  These cowards hijacked four planes full of innocent people and crashed them into the World Trading Center, the twin towers, and the Pentagon. One intended flight did not reach its destination; the White House.  The brave passengers of Flight 93 overpowered the hijackers and caused the plane to crash near a strip mine in rural Shanksville, PA.  I gave this refresher because these are the most memorable circumstances that united this country and rallied all of us Americans to come to each other’s aid.  We all stood side by side standing behind our President to take revenge on these terrorists groups and show them the full might of American power.  We held this unity as long as we could, at least for 5 years.  But, this unity started unraveling during the next Presidential election campaign.  And after the first Black President was elected in the United States, we thought that this would be a change in our way of thinking and acting towards all Americans.  Instead, it caused a polarization that affected not only the people but our governing body.  Wall Street collapsed, Detroit was failing, Banks were going bankrupt, the job market was shrinking, foreclosures were increasing and the country was involved in too many wars.  With this kind of mess, why would anyone want to be President anyway?  Unemployment was rising and it seemed all that the government wanted to do was think about partisan politics and forget about the people that elected them.  The Republican Party’s ideological firebrands are still determined to destroy President Obama and make him a one-term President by any means necessary.  All of which will be done at the expense of the majority of the American people.  They are even voting against policies that they had once supported such as the payroll tax.  They have become pure obstructionists and its not helping the country.  There is a lot of intense resentment and resistance toward this President.  You might believe that it’s a policy difference but I don’t.  If you don’t even support your own policies what is that you really don’t like?  The Democrats are not any better, they half-heartedly support the President and roll over like whipped pets.  The Tea Party is the most vocal and radical group since the John Birch Society.  There are still questions regarding these people that I just don’t understand.  The Founding Fathers created the separation of powers to keep government in check.  But eventually even conflict must give way to productive choices but what we are seeing is a realignment of parties on both sides seeking a majority to overthrow their rivals permanently.  At this level of childish grab-assing, we are seeing the disunity of a great people while showing how broken the system really is.  Our politicians are not representing the people they are representing the large corporations that are contributing to their campaigns.

Happy Birthday, Melinda!

Well, Colonel, you made another goal! Enjoy this blessed day! Love to you and the young man & woman who recently celebrated their birtdays. God bless!

Me - Tia D (Thanks, Tia)!

Me

Don’t ya try to tell me who you think I should be

How is it that you’ve figured me out

You’re honestly mistaken if ya take in what you see

And never even have a single doubt.

You can put me in a box if you really wanna try

But I won’t stay in it I guarantee

That may have worked before but it won’t work anymore

So maybe you should go and let me be.

I am who I am

(No matter what you say)

I am who I am

(That ain’t gonna change)

Let me be me

Just let me be me.

So now I’m stepping out gonna show ya what I mean

Just leave your expectations at the door

For they are now no use to me and so I refuse

To cater to all of them anymore.

Don’t ya try to stop me or convince me otherwise

Nothing you can say will change my mind

And so I’m moving forward my old self in the past

It’s time to show you who I really am.

I am who I am

(No matter what you say)

I am who I am

(That ain’t gonna change)

Let me be me.

This is who I am

(Each and every day)

This is who I am

(No matter what they say)

This is who I am

I’m free to be me.

tmd 9-8-11 ©

Happy Birthday, Devin!

Today is my nephew's 21st birthday! I remember when he was a baby now he is a grown man. Time is flying by. God Bless you, Devin! Enjoy your day!

Message To A Stranger

I want this message to be simple and understood.  Too often words get twisted and the meanings are totally misunderstood which causes arguments.  But, let’s be practical, if the Word of God is misinterpreted (no comparison to this), then men don’t have a chance of being understood.  The world is steadily changing it seems from bad to worse.  People are saying and doing mean things to each other, some it seems for no reason at all.  Relationship problems exist when words or phrases are constantly challenged.  When one member in that relationship becomes extremely careful about what is said to the other, it becomes the “eggshell” syndrome.  In other words, you have to walk on eggshells to keep the peace or all hell will break loose.  Quarrels can question who is this person I’m arguing with.  This is not the person I know but a stranger I just met.  Still with me?  Granted, you might have a brusque, tell-it-like-it-is attitude, but you are still being you.  Yes, you can work on controlling yourself and use diplomacy but change doesn’t happen overnight.  Change is constant whether we like it or night, change is all around us and we just have to adapt.  But, that change must be positive and towards a productive cause.  When your words are challenged, you are challenged.  So the question becomes are you accepted as who you are or as someone you should be or something else?  There could even be a deeper issue not being discussed.  We don’t know what we say and how we say it will affect someone.  Let’s hope that it’s for the positive.  One thing that is very, very, certain and that is DO NOT PUT YOUR HANDS ON EACH OTHER TO INFLICT PAIN OR INJURY!!!  If you can not touch each other lovingly, do not touch each other at all.  Corrective criticism is fine as long as it is put in an amicable and helpful way.  As our friend, Lila used to say, "Life is short, tommorrow isn't guaranteed."

Keep A Place For Us, Lila!

Our friend, Lila was buried yesterday on Labor Day, September 5, 2011.  Her celebration of life was held at Mt. Olive, C.M.E. Church in Lexington, SC.  What a wonderful celebration!  Lila R. Cook was born July 31, 1954 and transitioned on September 1, 2011. As long as I’ve known her, I have never heard her say anything harsh about anyone, no matter how bad she might have been treated.  You don’t meet many people in this world that are like that.  They turn the other cheek, pray for you, and give it to God.  Lila, Denise (Niecy), Vivian, Queen, Evelyn and I all ate together for lunch whenever we could.  Debra and Princess joined us much of the time.  Vanessa, Verne, and Mary would sit at the table next to us.  Lila will be missed but is deeply loved.  She was a good soul.

Happy Birthday, Teria!

I am getting a bit absent minded.  My niece, Teria, celebrated her 16^th birthday, August 31^st!  She celebrated her sweet-16 celebration with a new car from her mom!  God bless you, Teria, with wisdom, grace, and success!

Rest In Peace, Lila!

One of my lunch buddies, Lila Cook, passed unexpectedly last night, September 1st. She would always say after eating lunch, "Thank you God for that." We would answer "Amen." Well, thank you God for Lila! God bless her. We’ll talk about this later.